For many countries around the world, the establishment of a national human rights commission marks an advanced point in the country's commitment to human rights. Unfortunately, in countries like Malaysia and Burma, the establishment of national human rights commissions is more of a cynical exercise aimed at containment of human rights concerns and perhaps even, justifying human rights violations.

This does not bode well for the credibility of the Asean regional human rights mechanism - for Southeast Asian human rights defenders, the concerns about such mechanisms centre on the fact that infamous human rights violators may be in a position to define what "human rights" means.

In the words of Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, it is like expecting the fox to look after the chickens. Basic access by human rights defenders and other sectors of civil society to regional and governmental structures in Southeast Asia has overall, been extremely limited.

Last week, Malaysia announced the establishment of the national human rights commission, to coincide with the current session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva. Unfortunately, the authorities do not seem to understand that this initiative is supposed to reduce and address human rights violations, because they "launched" the new commission with a brutal crackdown which has seen more than 50 people arrested this weekend.

There are also serious concerns that the Malaysian Human Rights Commission's understanding of "human rights" is not based on the minimum standards described in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

This understanding is subordinate to Malaysian legislation which features such prized jewels as the Internal Security Act which allows indefinite detention without trial, the Universities and University Colleges Act which prohibits students from political activities, the Official Secrets Act which renders opaque any document or information at the whim of the government, and so on.

Further, following the recent crackdown where the authorities not only violated international human rights standards but also the country's own constitution, we have not heard even a squeak from the head of the Commission Musa Hitam.

It is disturbing that the newly appointed Malaysian Human Rights Commission has nothing to say about the authorities' high-handed tactics in dispersing peaceful demonstrators. Why are they observing a day of silence?

It should be able to say whether Malaysians have a democratic right to assemble peacefully. If it cannot speak up at this crucial time, its existence is meaningless. If it had spoken up, the sceptics would have been convinced that it is indeed an independent body with courage and commitment to defend democracy. Through its silence, the commission has condemned itself.

Judging by the track record of the judiciary and the Elections Commission which have become institutions notorious for lack of independence, the grave concerns about the capacity of the Human Rights Commission to perform according to international standards are indeed justified.

Yesterday, Save Ourselves leader Ong Boon Keong attempted to lodge a complaint with the Human Rights Commission in Kuala Lumpur. He was told by a foreign ministry official that the commission does not even have a desk or a chair!

Meanwhile the Asean pattern of doing things back to front where human rights are concerned is repeated in Burma, where the notorious regime plans to set up a human rights commission with the help of the Australian government. Perhaps being located down under has caused certain officials to develop an upside down perspective.

Let's get back to basic first. Both these governments need to have a basic commitment to human rights and become parties to the key human rights instruments such as the International Convention of Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights before even thinking of such ambitious projects as human rights commissions without so much as a desk, a chair or a sense of embarrassment.

DEBORAH STOTHARD is a Malaysian human rights activist representing Aliran at the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva. Part of the seven-member Malaysian NGO delegation, she is in Geneva to raise violations of human rights in Malaysia at the UN meeting. The UN Human Rights Commission meets every year for six weeks and has the powers to censure member nations for rights abuse.